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Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea from Yemen have forced Jordan into costly adaptations to its trade, the chairman of the Jordan Shipping Association has said.
Nearly a year after the Gaza war-related attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels started, Dr Dureid Mahasneh told The National in an exclusive interview that Mediterranean ports in Turkey, Greece and Egypt have been increasingly feeding Jordan’s only port at Aqaba with Far East cargo.
Without the Houthi threat, the cargo would have arrived at Aqaba along mainstream routes through the Bab Al Mandeb.
“There have been no shortages in Jordan. But lots of goods have become more expensive,” said Dr Mahasneh, chief executive of Gargour, one of the oldest shipping companies in the Levant.
In the first eight months of the year, the number of cargo ships passing through the Bab Al Mandeb fell by 61 per cent to 4,557 ships. Oil tanker traffic was down by 64 per cent to 2,267. The strait is a trade artery between the Far East and Europe, as well for Gulf oil exports to continental Europe.
We have been seeing a high rise in costs, delays, and less business
Dr Dureid Mahasneh,
chief executive, Gargour shipping
But imports and exports handled by Aqaba port have remained steady at 14.1 million tonnes in the first eight months of this year compared with the same period 2023, according to the latest shipping association data.
Jordan imports virtually all of what it consumes, with Aqaba, situated on the Red Sea, between the Israeli port of Eilat and the coast of Saudi Arabia, accounting for the vast majority of the kingdom’s trade flows. The Far East is a primary source of Jordanian imports, except for oil and commodities.
“We have been seeing a high rise in costs, delays, and less business. A big shipping line that we represent is no longer coming to Aqaba directly,” said Dr Mahasneh, who has a doctorate in marine sciences, and is also vice president of the Federation of National Associations of Ship Brokers & Agents.
He said that Aqaba is a destination port and not a significant point of transit. “You only bring cargo to Aqaba mostly for Jordan, and a little for a country like Iraq, for example.”
The major shipping lines, he said, had decided to divert south and go around the Cape of Good Hope, especially after the Houthi attacks escalated at the beginning of this year, despite increased presence of western naval forces in the area.
“Combining with other liners they are putting containers coming to Aqaba through the Mediterranean,” Dr Mahasneh said from his office in Amman. A painting of the port of Jaffa, where the Gargour trading business started in the late 1920s, mainly as an orange exporter, hangs behind his desk.
“The main line between Europe and the Far East runs through the Red Sea and Suez Canal and vice versa. But a lot of shipping lines have been hesitant to go through Bab Al Mandeb because of the volatile situation there.”
In an indication of the increased feeding activity into Aqaba, the port handed 296 CTR (container fitted) vessels by the end of August, a 23 per cent rise over the first eight months of 2023.
Cargo is also being rerouted by land through Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone. A car imported into Jordan through Jebel Ali can cost up to $4,000 extra in shipping than when it would arrive directly in Aqaba by ship, Dr Mahasneh said.
Inflation in Jordan is forecast at 2.7 per cent this year, compared with 2.2 per cent last year, according to International Monetary Fund. The authorities in the kingdom subsidise flour and some other staples, shielding consumers from price fluctuations. Oil is imported Saudi Arabia and from Iraq, which has made Jordan unaffected by delays by tanker deliveries through the Bab Al Mandeb.
Fewer vessels emptying cargo in Aqaba have also created difficulties for Jordan's phosphate and potash producers, he said, because the ships, once they offloaded their cargo, used to carry exports of the two products.
Phosphate and potash, separately produced by two state monopolies, account for most of Jordan's exports by value, followed by textiles and other goods manufactured at a joint industrial zone with Israel.
The Iran-backed Houthis started attacking ships in the Red Sea less than two weeks after the Gaza war broke out with an attack by the Hamas, another militant group supported by Iran, on Israel on October 7. The Houthis described the move as aimed at pressuring Israel into halting its operations in the strip.
General cargo vessels handled by Aqaba fell 46 per cent to 27 per cent, and ships carrying cars and other vehicles (called ro-ro) dropped 61 per cent to 49 in the first eight months of this year. Container traffic fell 10 per cent to 272,988 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit).
“There is no remedy other than building up feeder vessels to bring in the cargo and relying on Jebel Ali,” Dr Mahasneh said.
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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Quick%20facts
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Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
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match info
Southampton 2 (Ings 32' & pen 89') Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Son 45', 47', 64', & 73', Kane 82')
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More coverage from the Future Forum
Key facilities
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
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Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
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A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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This year’s winners of the US$4 million Sheikh Zayed Future Energy Prize will be recognised and rewarded in Abu Dhabi on January 15 as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainable Week, which runs in the capital from January 13 to 20.
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